"don't mind the smell too much," she says. elysium doesn't come out of his ball unless it's to eat or deal with nasty pests. he's not even technically registered under her trainer license. there are pokemon her siblings know about, pokemon the league knows about, and then there's elysium. 

"i used to have more of them, but a botch job took them out. grunts told me it was run of the mill poison on the scene, not arsenic. poor fucks melted."

she eyes whatever's in his hands and then shrugs her shoulders. "honestly, yeah? s'long as it doesn't kill him."

oscar clayton

☉

"shit, really?" she looks from the macabre science experiment and tries to think of how many hoops must've been jumped through to just say fuck it and put it on a live subject. then again, rocket's full of nutters, and if you're armless who wouldn't say no to being a top mad scientist's plaything?

well, sylvie wouldn't, but that's neither here nor there. 

"i'll have to ask him about it if i see him. that's really cool, man." elysium starts to slow down. he turns towards her, a slightly lighter hue than normal, and sylvie frowns down at him when he burps. "gods, i really need more of 'em to make these jobs go quicker. keep on, bud. you'll be fine."

he gurgles and goes about slowly consuming another arm.

oscar clayton

☉

her internal timer goes off and while rory prattles about her upcoming achievements, all while pretending that her brother's very presence doesn't irritate her, sylvie turns around and tugs her oven mitts back on. the pan isn't too hot, but no sense burning her fingers - she skirts around her siblings to place the dish on its centerpiece at the table, where a knife already lay ready to cut it. 

the plates have been set, along with their silverware. sylvie's attention slides away from rory; she mhms about the cap and then says, "aaron, could you get everyone a glass of water? and i'll take the pasta, thanks, aaaand we're all set."

she grabs her wine and starts cutting into the roast, giving the two time to sit. 

"well, even if they can't, we'll take pictures for them."

Rory Faust aaron faust

☉

he's plenty annoying. case in point - the fact that he's even here, after breaking into her house. the fact that he leaves her socks at his house for her to find, one crumpled up and stinky under the couch and the other in pollux's mouth. yuck.

"yes, way," she quips back and takes an exaggerated slurp of her coffee. another biscuit hits the plate and she doesn't bother stifling her chuckle. 

when he brings up rocket, her eyes glitter with amusement. "'course i am," she says. "as much as i can. i don't think rocket wants anything to do with the bodies after they've been dealt with."

she doesn't often talk about her job, not with him. there aren't many people who understand the allure of a career in the dead body industry, but hey, at least she'll always have work. and at the end of the day, not talking about the job makes it easier to hide the grimier parts of it - all that rot and blood money hidden in decay.

"i'm more worried about you. you get that title and you're gonna have a target on your back, aar. are you sure you want that?"

aaron faust

☉

"'kay, baby champ," she teases. he'll get there. she's no doubt about it. and if he fails the first time, he won't be kept down long. 

pollux and cassie are most certainly not battling material. they're good for a quick getaway and finishing off folks that have been left behind at a scene in haste. to be fair, they've probably seen more death than aaron's pokemon, but that doesn't mean they can battle for shit. 

she nibbles on her biscuit. 

"yeah, well, you two are annoying sometimes. growing up is annoying." she slurps her coffee and stretches. "and i dunno if you've noticed, but the world is kinda going to shit. we're better off than most, yeah? i'll take arguing with you dummies any day over hoenn shenanigans." 

aaron faust

☉

"neat," she comments. she doesn't understand any of it either, but she's learned it's better not to ask questions. and besides, as fascinating as suturing cybernetic arms onto flesh people sounds, she has a job to do, and it actually does take a lot more mental effort than one would think.

"oh, i brought some. outside. elysium will dissolve most if though, so i like to let him do a wide sweep. then i come in with the finer details."

she grunts as she hoists another bucket of blood for him. with his help, the blood is disposed of. she'll take bleach to it in a bit, but for now there are still pieces that can be ordered nicely for elysium. 

"so you think it will take? on a live subject?" she asks. 

oscar clayton

☉

"yeah," she says, flexing the tip of her finger. it's a little red, but the heat's already mostly died down. she reaches for her coffee mug and waits for the food to cool a little bit. the jam spreads ever-so-slowly thanks to the heat and her stomach growls at the smell filling the kitchen.

"i'm sure greyson didn't want you to fail," she says, sure of it. aaron failing only meant he'd never shut up about it at home; god spare Greyson Connors if he had to listen to that.

"pff, how about champ in training? baby champ? champino? lil champ? and just five? aar, it's five of the toughest trainers in hoenn. technically the five toughest trainers in hoenn. you have to take this seriously if you want to win."

she finally bites into her biscuit and it's absolute perfection. the jam coats the roof of her mouth, sweet with sugar and fresh berries. people who don't cook for themselves are chumps.

"stop that. you know she just gets insecure. things come so easy to you and she has to work twice as hard." she swallows with a wash of coffee, mming. "she just has a bit more growing up to do."

sylvie faust

☉

blood has a certain tang to it. he must have been here for a while, working amidst it, for the smell to get this intense. the mint chapstick she puts under her nose helps with the worst of the smell (an old trick she's grateful to have discovered early on in her career). 

just gallade. that's good. she follows his pointing to the pile of bodies, frowning slightly. elysium may not be enough on his own to take care of them, lest she wants to make oscar wait a couple of hours. the grimer is tapped out of its ball and onto the floor. 

unlike the two humans in the room, elysium thrives off the stench and when sylvie gestures, he slinks over to the pile of discarded bodies. acid sizzles and slowly, his sludge starts working through the consumption process. 

"hmm, were you just testing theories, then?" she abandons her own coffee and starts consolidating the buckets of blood. "hard to tell if they'll take though, no? if they're already dead."

oscar clayton

☉

he inhales the fridge-cold pastries and she can tell they're just not the right texture - too dry like that, without the fresh jam dressed up on them. so she keeps hold of her coffee in one hand and reaches back into the fridge to grab a carafe of a leftover batch of ginger lemonade from yesterday. 

she puts together a glass for him and then turns her back, setting coffee down so she can flick fingers over the hot food and onto the waiting plate.

"ow, fuck," she spits under her breath, shaking out her pointer and then sticking it right in her mouth. heat melts away with the press of her tongue, which makes it all the more ridiculous when she grins wide and looks back at her bro.

"no way! i mean, i've heard you have to be a bit braindead to fail the interview, but hell yea, aar! so when are you challenging the elite, huh? when can we start calling you champ?"

aaron faust

☉

it's a decent bottle - nothing to break the bank over, but it's not swill by any means. in no less words, it's a complete waste on her brother. she has hopes, though not very high, that rory might appreciate it a bit better. it complements the roast quite nicely, she thinks.

"nothing wrong with living with a roommate," she says. she, herself, has always been an introvert with an insufferable desire for her own space. people are just so draining. but for aaron? who shines in the spotlight, who needs attention 24/7 or he starts to wither away?

"wow, six badges. think you'll finish the circuit this year?"

she brightens when rory pipes up about her upcoming graduation. "'course, ror. not gonna miss it for the world. got your cap and gown all set? i can send some stuff if you need."

Rory Faust aaron faust

☉

it takes her a moment - just a moment - to adjust to the sight. she's seen far, far worse in her line of work. she's, at the very least, happy with the attempts at containing most of the blood. still, it must have been horrific trying to work around all the gore. especially if he'd been performing some sort of surgery.

she eyes the body on the bed, takes the scene and its story into her brain, and it all hisses into static by the time she blinks and offers the coffee out to him. 

"two cream and one sugar. thought that might be a safe bet," she says as a pleasant you're welcome to his thanks. she steps neatly over a stray limb and looks around for a place to set her coffee down. finding no clean space, she steps a bit clumsily into the suit with one hand.

"is it all gallade or are there other types of pokemon in the midst?" she asks as she starts to zip. "easier to clean if i know what kind of blood i'm working with."

right, the introductions. "and hi. nice to meet you too, oscar."

oscar clayton

☉

pollux follows at her heels. she has two cups of coffee in her hand. she's no idea how the scientist takes his coffee, or if he even drinks it at all, but it doesn't hurt to show some friendliness to a new face. and if he doesn't drink coffee? well, more for her. 

"dr clayton?" she call as she knocks on the slightly ajar door. a faint odor hits her nose - one she's all too familiar with. she doesn't make a face, but it does pique her interest. pollux's tail twitches and he sits, waiting patiently.

oscar clayton

☉